Machine for preparing food products



June 6, 1944. c. J. SCH'WEBKE ETAL 2,350,643

MACHINE FOR PREPARING FOOD PRODUCTS Original Filed April 27. 1939 sSheets-Sheet 1 IN V EN TORS CZ ARE/V05 uf Sum/55x5 IZMNK 5 HOA 01.57

ATTORNEY June 1944- c. J. SCHWEBKE ETAL MACHINE FOR PREPARING FOODPRODUCTS Original Filed April 27, 1939- 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 'IIIIIIIMQ WIJINVENTORS CZ ARE/V05 ScHwEsKE F/PA NA E. 1 /0/1045) ATTORNE Y June 6,1944. c. J. SCHWEBKE ETAL 2,350,643

MACHINE FOR PREPARING FOOD PRODUCTS Original Filed April 2'7, 1939" 3Sheets-Sheet 3 FIG. 1/

INVENTORS C2 ARA-(YCEJ Scwwaswa fkA/VK E HAUL E7 y 1L4! A770 RHEYPatented June 6, 1944 MACHINE FOR PREPARING FOOD RODUCTS Clarence J.Soll'dlkc milk I. Holdloy,

Belolt, Win,

South Beloit, 111., a corporation April 27, use,

this

ginal application 270,374.

Dividedanl 1942, Serial No. 443,454

to I'Iahll Corporation,

of Delaware W No. Junel0,

zclaims. (CI-D9438) It is the intention that the present patent shallcover by suitable expression in the appended lclaims, features ofpatentable novelty other than claimed in our pending application issueNo.

being preferably stationary; thus to cause the mass to whirl as it isexuded from between these surfaces into atmospheric pressure. Theexpansion of the pent up vapor and released steam forms cells similar tobubbles formed on the surface of soapy water when air is dischargedunder the surface of the water.

Our device is designed so the necessary heat and pressure are createdprogressively: wherein 2,295,868, September 15, 1942, of whichthis'-apthe control resides in convenient means for conplication is adivisional. trolling the moisture content, and the space be- The presentinvention relates to a machine for tween the discs through which thematerial is the treatment or preparing of various raw food exuded.products. Such products, for example, as corn The raw material seldomcontains enough meal and the like, wherein, by a step method, themoisture for proper processing. We therefore material is first given apredetermined moisture provide means for adding moisture to the rawcontent, mixed and then preferably fed into the material before it isfed into the final processor. final processor by means of a meteringdevice, When the streamlets are discharged from the then stirred. mixedand cooked under pressure pr ss n appa at s t y ar pr par d for so as tofirst form a homogeneous mass and then human consumpti n except ha h y kPr p r a somewhat viscous fluid and then preferablyseasoning. We P vi ep r ns f r the rolling or spinning the fluid between closely spacedseasoning p she streamlets are crisp d smooth annular surfaces andexuding it into light and while the surface cells are much smalleratmospheric pressure in a number of streams than the interior cells,they both readily absorb which are immediately expanded into cellularany d s red kind and quantity of nin streamlets or fingers. especiallywhen supplied in heated liquid form. In carrying out our invention, wereduce the The streamlets may be easoned in th fo m h y raw materialsuch as corn meal and the like to a m from the D e r e y be rok n cookedfluid under considerable pressure, the food 119 n Short pi f he D 'DOebeing left more or less tenacious and containing To these n Otheruseful en o inv nti n innumerable infinitesimal particles of water or csis s o p ts. combinations o p o t e vapor. equivalents, and mode ofoperation, as hereinafter The device preferably is designed so as to bedescribed and claimed and Shown in the c self heated by friction betweenthe particles of p yini; d ing in which! the material and between theparticles and the i 1 is a e e ev n of he Pref red form surfaces ofcontacting metal and to progressively 0f the m jor unit of ourProcessing devicebuild up pressure during the heating period; thus Fi 2i a Ver i a l tu n l ti n Of he the uncooked raw material, having apredeterd vi e l s r t in i r 1- mined moisture content, is processedinto a somei 3 i n enlarged fr t l lon it what viscous liquid having atemperature high section of the vital parts of our device. enough tocook the mass and heat .the water Fi 4 is a drawing of the device Shownin particles to a temperature high enough for Figure 1 as viewed fromthe right or stator end. evaporation at atmospheric pressure but beingFi 5.15 n enlar ed horizontal fractional under sufllcient pressure toprevent it. section of the device taken on line 55 of In order toaccomplish the foregoing results,- igure 1. i the food particles mustfirst be humidified, then Fig- 6 i a fra i n r n ve e S tion f brokendown and cooked under pressure to prethe device taken on line 6-6 ofFigure 2. vent evaporation of the moisture and agitated to Fig. 'l is afront or face view of the processa point where it takes the form of afluid but ing rotor. having suflicient viscosity to expand into acellular Fig. 8 is a front or face view of the stator. structure whenthe pressure is released. Fig. 9 is a perspective view of one of the Weaccomplish the desired results after the streamlets about to scale.material is cooked and liquifled by means of two Fig. 10 is a sectiontaken on line Ill-Ill of annular smooth surfaces very closely spaced,one Figure 9. p r turning at a relatively high speed and the other Fig.11 is a diagrammatic plan view of our complete device.

As thus illustrated, our complete processing device comprises fourdistinct units (see Figure 11) viz., A, B, C and D each cooperating toproduce the results as herebefore outlined.

rounded by a conveyor tube, the bottom end terminating a short distanceabove the bottom of the hopper and the upper end terminatin a shortdistance below the top cover of the mixer. The auger is adapted to stirand move 7 the material from the bottomof the hopper and discharge itinto the top of the mixer. the housing permitting it to fall back intothe hopper through outlet 5.

Clearly the fresh supply of hydrated material will b thoroughly anduniformly mixed with the recirculated material as it passes rapidly andfrequently through the mixler. An outlet 6 is provided which conveys thehydrated material preferably into the auger feeding device B having adriving shaft I.

Speed changing device C is provided havin driving means 9 and mechanismwhereb sha t I may be driven at various speeds throu h V-belts Ill.Units A. B and C are commercial articles and too well known to reouirefurther description except the means provided for hymaterial, afterbeing hydrated is fed into the processing unit D in any desired quantityper minute through outlet duct 8.

adapted to be driven by shaft 4 and is sur- To successfully operate unitD, it is absolutely necessary to provide the raw material with a certainmoisture content. The amount of moisture added, for example, to 100 lbs.of raw material varies considerably with the weather.

Commercial corn meal is guaranteed to contain not more than 12% moistureby weight but there is no guarantee as to how much less this materialwill contain and therefore means are preferably provided (not shown) fortesting the moisture content of the material before it reaches unit D.Not only is it necessary to definitely control the moisture content ofthe raw material but the speed at which it is fed into the processermust be controlled for reasons which will hereinafter appear.

The most satisfactory means for controllin the flow of material is bymeans of an anger conveyor and a speed changing device as illustrated.Thus clearly, units A, B and C will operate satisfactorily and deliver adesired and continuousquantity of material at the proper humidity tounit D. r

Unit D comprises a base II on which is 'means of bolt l2 which is screwthreaded into unit F and passes loosely through lug l3 and is held inthe desired position by means of nuts |4-|4. Unit G is firmly held inspaced relation to unit F by means of spaced bolts |5|3. Units E and Gar firmly held in selective longitudinal positions on base H by means ofsuitable guide straps as clearly illustrated in Figures 1 and 4.

It will be seen that by removing the outer nut i4 and loosening thestrap bolts which hold unit E to'bas II, this unit may be pulledrearwardly far enough to expose the auger conveyor of this unit. Byremoving the nuts on bolts l5 and the bolts which clamp unit G to baseI, this unit may also be moved away from unit F in the same manner so asto make the rotor accessible.

Unit E comprises a shaft l6 having a driving pulley secured thereto, theshaft being mounted in the unit by means of bearings |8|8. \A sleeve I3is screw threaded on shaft IS with which to adjust the bearings.Wagrovideend members 20 and 2| each being provided with grooves 22-22for the reception of suitabl packing material. We mount a conveyorsleeve 23 on shaft IS, the front end being pointed as at 24, the sleevehaving spiral projections 25.

Projections 25 are adapted to fit freely within an orifice 26 in memberF. This orifice intersects an inlet duct 21. Member 23 is provided withkey seats 28-28 and a driving pin 29 is secured to shaft Hi, the endsprotruding so as to engage seats 28. Thus when shaft I6 is turned in thedirection indicated'by curvilinear arrow, the conveyor will tend to movethe material from duct 21 toward unit G.

A stator sleeve 30 having a flange 3| is closely fitted into an opening32 in member B (see Figure 3) and is held from turning therein by meansof dowel pins 33-33.

. The opening in sleeve 30 is formed by spaced teeth 34. This openingregisters with orifice 26. The face 35 of flange 3| is provided withcut-away grooves 36 which terminate as at 31. one edge registering withthe leading edge of the teeth; thus leaving a narrow annular smoothsurface between grooves 36 and an annular groove 33 which is cut in theface corner of flang 3|.

It will be seen that spirals 25 extend into sleeve 30 and that teeth 34will cooperate with the spirals mounted a unit which in its entirety isdesignated by reference character E. This unit is base II and comprisesthe stationary parts, of

the processor. Unit G is mounted on base H and supplies power to therotor which acts to exude the cooked liquid material and cause it to movthe material being treated and create considerable pressure andfrictional heat when the movement of the material is considerablyrestricted as will hereinafter appear. 7

Clearly if it is desired to inspect member 23, all that is necessary isto loosen the straps which hold member E to the frame and remove outernut l4 and move member E toward the end of the frame.

Referring now to unit G. This unit comprises a shaft 40 which isrotatably mounted in a sleeve 4| by means 'of bearings 4242, the innerbearing resting against a sleeve 43 and being adiusted by means of acollar 44 which is screwthreaded on the shaft as illustrated.

Sleeve 4| is slidably mounted in an opening 45 v in member G. Endmembers 46 and 41 act to form an oil tight chamber each being providedwith a groove 43 for the reception of packing material.

'shaft 40.

to form in cellular streamlets and deliver them A pulley 49 is securedto the protruding end of Sleeve 4| is provided with a screw threadedprojection 50 which extends through a slot 4| at the rear of which is aclosure 52. A

and

4| may be moved back and forth deflnite distances in the housing forpurposes which will hereinafter appear.

Sleeve 43 is provided with a flange II and is secured to shaft ll so asto provide a space at the end of the shaft for a filler plug ll. Thisfiller plug is preferably curved on its face as at.

02 and is adapted to lie across the end of shaft II as indicated so theouter edges of the curve will be flush with the front surface I, of theflange. The outer periphery of flange ll registers with the bottom ofgroove 38. v

We provide cut-away portions 64 whichare preferably shaped asillustrated in Figure 7 providing curved members 65 so as to cooperatewhen turning in the direction indicated by arrow with members 25, 34 andit to urge the material being processed outwardly through opening Ibetween members 63 and 35. This opening is adapted to b adjusted byturning bolt 53 in either direction. In other words, this bolt may beused for minute adjustments of space 66. It will be understood that thisspace may be changed for various materials: thus the space is alwaysunder complete control of the operator. Cut-away portions 8| terminateon the same transvers plan as point 31; thus there will be two annularrings as at 35 and 33.

We provide a housing H which is secured to ii will cooperate with thesmooth disc surfaces It and '3 to urge the material outwardly and tomaintain the pressure until the liquid is, or about to be exuded intothe atmosphere.

It will be seen that in order to operate the device. the operator needonly to see that the raw material is properly hydrated and fed into theflnal processer at the right speed and that the stator and rotorsurfaces are the right distance apart. 1

It will be understood that we have illustrated our preferred designs andthat many minor detail changes may be made without departing from thespirit and scope of the present invention as recited in the appendedclaims. For example. in some designs it may be necessary to supply someexterior heat or .a cooling medium to member 1'.

.It will also be understood that spirals 2| may be differently arrangedand shaped and that the grooves and teeth in member 30, II and it mayalso be differently designed. Furthermore, the convex face of member Sior member 24 may be differently designed. A

Having'thus shown and described our invention, we claim: I V

1. A device of the class described, comprising an elongated base plate,having mounted thereon, intermediate its ends, a center unit having astator with an opening therethrough formed by spaced ribs and a feedduct forming an operating connection to said opening, the closed end ofsaid duct registering with a portion of the stator openmember F as at 12(see Figures 2 and 4) and having an outlet as at ii. We mount a disc 14on flange 60 of the rotor thus to direct the streamlets to an endlessbelt 15. This belt may be supported as illustrated in Figure 4 or in anyother suitable manner which will be adapted to convey the streamlets toreceptacles or to another conveyor.

By referring to Figure 2 it will be seen that member E may be adjustedto a position which will bring the apex of member 24 in contact withsurface 62 of member 6i while surfaces and 63 are in contact. Beforestarting the rotor, it should be moved slightly out of contact with thestator by turning bolt 53.

When the device is started, the hydrated material is fed into inlet 21and is moved toward the rotor by spirals 25 and because of the fact thatthe smooth surfaces of the stator and rotor are almost in contact,pressure and heat will immediately be generated and as the pressure andheat are increased, the material will be violently stirred; thus to forma homogeneous somewhat viscous fluid which will be exuded from betweensurfaces 35 and 83.

The temperature will raise to a point which would evaporate the water ormoisture at atmosphel'ic pressure but full evaporation will belateventedby the pressure generated by spirafir' 25. As the fluid is exuded frombetween surfaces SI and 68, it will form in small streams. These streamswill be caused to revolve as they are exuded because one of the surfacesbetween which the fluid is passing is preferably stationary and theother is revolving at high speed. When the pressure is released, thewater or moisture in the fluid will immediately flash into steam and anyvapor in the liquid will expand to thereby form cellular streamlets.Clearly grooves 36 and ribs ing, an opening in said duct in axialalignment with said stator opening and having substantially the samediameter as the inside diameter thereof,

secured to said shaft and extending through said last opening and adistance in said stator opening, means for driving said shaft in onedirection, said stator having on its outer end and at the outer edgethereof, a relatively narrow substantially smooth annular surface,another carrying member mounted on the opposite end of said base plate,a shaft rotatably mounted in said last carrying member and being insubstantially axial alignment with said first shaft and having on itsinner end a rotor with a smooth annular surface which registers withsaid stator annular surface, means for manually adjusting said lastshaft longitudinally whereby the space between said annular surfaces maybe minutely adjusted, means for driving said last shaft in the oppositedirection from said first shaft, projecting ribs on adjacent surfaces ofsaid stator-and rotor, the ribs extending inwardly from said annularsurfaces and at opposite angles, said spiral conveyor, stator and rotorribs adapted to urge material fed into said duct toward said annularsurfaces and to heat the material by friction and cook it into a'viscous mass having a temperature great enough to being substantiallythe same diameter thereof. a

the other end of said stator opening having means to be driven intheother direction, said stator and rotor having on their adjacent outeredges relatively narrow smooth annularv registering faces, spacedprojections on the adjacent faces of stir and urge material led intosaid duct toward said annular. i'aces. means for manually minutelycooked material will be exuded from between said said rotor and statorand extending inwardly o annular surfaces into the atmosphere.

from said annular surfaces at opposite angles to thereby cooperate withsaid spiral conveyor to CLARENCE J. SCHWEBKE. FRANK E. HOADLEY.

